<\/p>\n
The 88th annual Ca\u00f1on City Music and Blossom Festival is slated to kick off next week, and organizers are gearing up for a once-in-a-lifetime sort of celebration.<\/p>\n
Though the much-loved carnival went on hiatus<\/a> in 2025, the festival will feature a brand-new attraction: a Brightflight Drone Show, slated to grace the sky over Ca\u00f1on City, starting at 8:30 p.m. on May 2.<\/p>\n The show, coordinated with the Denver Tourism Office, is affectionately called \u201cStories in the Sky\u201d and features a 15-minute performance with scenes from across Colorado \u2014 including Fremont County icons such as the Royal Gorge Bridge.<\/p>\n According to Blossom Festival organizers, the best viewing opportunities will be at Centennial Park.<\/p>\n The carnival, which spent many years at the grounds at Elm Avenue and South Ninth Street, will not be back for the 2026 celebration, as noted by board member Greg DiRito, but they hold out hope for the future.<\/p>\n He noted that trying to find a new, acceptable ground for a carnival, as well as locking in a new company (after Wright\u2019s Amusements declined to return), was a bit like trying to hit a moving target. He went on to say that, even if the Blossom weekend carnival is in the rearview mirror, they may be able to secure a Fourth of July carnival or Harvest Festival carnival.<\/p>\n The fourth annual Blossom Ball will be Friday at The Annex, with a cocktail hour beginning at 6 p.m.\u00a0 The theme, \u201cUnder the Bigtop,\u201d will combine the event\u2019s signature black-tie attire with vintage-circus-inspired fun.<\/p>\n Originally founded in 2013 under the alias of the Blossom Alumni Banquet, the banquet has since been renamed the Blossom Ball and welcomes people from across Colorado to enjoy the long history of the Blossom Festival.<\/p>\n Though tickets for the event have already sold out, organizers encourage possible attendees to look out for tickets to next year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really a beautiful, fun event that people always enjoy,\u201d said Blossom Board President Cassie Grow.<\/p>\n The ball is the festival\u2019s biggest fundraiser of the year and offers a good chance at some colorful fun.<\/p>\n The second annual Blossom Ballers Bowling Tournament is slated for Sunday at Ca\u00f1on City According to co-organizer Matt Martinez, the event welcomed more than 40 teams in 2025 and, though the 2026 tournament will be a bit smaller, he still encourages the public to come out and watch the tournament.<\/p>\n Funds raised from the event will go toward next year\u2019s Music and Blossom Festival.<\/p>\n An oldie but goodie, and perhaps the longest-held tradition of the festival, will be the band competitions that are slated to take place throughout the week and weekend.<\/p>\n Event organizer Mike Nolan noted that a remarkable 55 schools are slated to participate in the competition, and 25 are registered to march in the parade.<\/p>\n Concert bands, orchestras, and jazz ensembles from throughout Colorado are slated to travel to Ca\u00f1on City for a weekend of musical entertainment. Performances will begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Lou Del Pizzo Performing Arts Center at Ca\u00f1on City High School.<\/p>\n The band competition will stretch from Wednesday to May 2 and will take place at multiple locations throughout Fremont County.<\/p>\n The competitions are free and open to the public.<\/p>\n For a detailed list of performance dates, times, and locations, visit the Blossom Festival website<\/a>.<\/p>\n The centerpiece of any Blossom Festival, the 88th annual Blossom Parade, will take place at 1 p.m. May 2 on Main Street.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s theme, \u201cStars Over the Rockies,\u201d was chosen to honor the commemorative 250\/150 celebration slated to celebrate the United States\u2019 250th anniversary and Colorado\u2019s 150th anniversary.<\/p>\n This year, a record-setting number of floats, acts, and bands are slated to partake in the parade \u2014 104 to be exact.<\/p>\n Led by this year\u2019s parade marshal, Adam Arnold, the parade, full of bands, floats, and community partners, will proceed down Main Street from west to east. Grow assured anxious attendees that, despite the current construction project on Main, the parade and festivities will go on.<\/p>\n Grow went on to detail that the parade lineup will begin at Third Street and run to 14th Street.<\/p>\n Parade organizers want to remind both community residents and festival first-timers that parking will be strictly off-limits on Main Street beginning at 9 a.m. on the day of the parade. There will be handicapped parking available at the Fremont County Public Health building and the Ca\u00f1on City Middle School.<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s premier 5k race, RunBlossom, is slated to begin at 7:45 a.m. May 2. Several waves of runners will run throughout the day. In previous years, more than 800 runners partook in the fun and organizers anticipate this year to be no different.<\/p>\n Register for the race at https:\/\/www.joinfar.org\/runblossom.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n No Blossom Festival would be complete without the menagerie of local goods available at craft fairs in Ca\u00f1on City.<\/p>\n The first, affectionately called Blossoms in the Park Craft Fair, will open at 9 a.m. May 2 and 9 a.m. May 3 at Veterans Park. In addition to 130 longtime favorite vendors, there will be a special kids zone that will have a mermaid\u2019s lagoon, Big Ballin\u2019 Entertainment, face painting, and at least one mechanical bull. Several food trucks will be on site to provide a variety of delicious eats for attendees and live music will take place throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n A variety of live entertainment will play throughout the weekend, so swing by with a lawn chair to enjoy the festivities.<\/p>\n Enjoy Yoga in the Park at 11 a.m. May 2 and Sunday Church presented by Catalyst Church at 9 a.m. May 3.<\/p>\n The Daily Record reached out to the Royal Gorge Chamber Alliance, which hosts the second craft fair located at Gateway Depot Plaza, but had not yet received details at the time of this article. For more information, visit the Chamber\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n After the parade, festival-goers can disperse to the Cluster Duck, the festival\u2019s premier concert that will run from 3:30-11 p.m. May 2 at Centennial Park.<\/p>\n Entry to the event is $7 for adults and $3 for children under 14.<\/p>\n Families are also invited to attend Cluster Duck, as this year will be the first that a Cluster Duck kids zone will be on site. Gotta Bounce CO LLC will bring several bounce houses to the event and provide a fun evening out for families.<\/p>\n Tickets are available at the gates, and both cash and cards will be accepted.<\/p>\n Below is the band lineup:<\/p>\n Last, but certainly not least, the Ca\u00f1on City Rodeo Association will present the 153rd Royal Gorge Rodeo at 7 p.m. May 2 and May 3 at the rodeo grounds, located at 1595 S. Ninth St. Mutton bustin\u2019 begins at 5 p.m. The rodeo will feature nine rip-roaring events, including wild horse races, extreme bronc riding, barrel racing, and bull riding.<\/p>\n Entry to the event is $15 and there will be food trucks and a mechanical bull throughout both evenings.<\/p>\nBlossom Ball<\/h4>\n
Blossom Ballers Bowling Tournament<\/h4>\n
Lanes. Slated to take place throughout the day, the event welcomes mixed teams to partake in a 9-pin, no-tap bowling tournament to win cash prizes. Additionally, there will be drawings, door prizes, and much more.<\/p>\nBand and choir competitions<\/h4>\n
Blossom Parade<\/h4>\n
RunBlossom<\/h4>\n
Craft Fairs<\/h4>\n
Cluster Duck<\/h4>\n
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Royal Gorge Rodeo<\/h4>\n